March 2019 Wrap-Up

I was debating for the longest time whether it's even worth writing this post considering how little I read in March, but now here I am with a belated wrap-up. The month started out really strong and I finished two books within the first week of March. Of course, I wanted to keep the momentum going and so I picked up the third book in a beloved series, because nothing can go wrong with that, right? Unfortunately, I was very wrong, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's first look at the two books I finished in March.

Watching the Movie Before Reading the Book

I am here today to confess to a terrible bookish sin that I have committed. I know it's bad, but I hope that you can understand and show support even in these difficult times. So here it goes: sometimes, I watch the movie before reading the book. Please take as much time as you need to process this admission of guilt on my part, and know that I will deeply reflect on my behavior.

All failed attempts at humor aside, I know this is something that is pretty frowned upon in the bookish community or at least goes against what a lot of other readers like to do. So today I want to talk about the good and the bad when it comes to watching movie adaptations before reading the book.

February 2019 Wrap-Up

It might not be my proudest moment that my first post since my January wrap-up is my February wrap-up, but I still want to talk about the books I read this month, so here we go. February included a lot of leaving my comfort zone for me, as I moved to Seoul for my exchange semester and explored this city and tried to meet people to spend the next few months with (not very successfully, I might add). So to take a break from all these draining experiences, I have turned to reading quite a lot, especially in the past two weeks. So I ended up finishing five books this month:

January 2019 Wrap-Up

January was a very eventful month for me, but somehow I still managed to get some reading done. I finished nine books last month, which is a LOT for me. However, six of those nine were graphic novels, so the number again becomes average. Still, I had exams this month and also had to write a paper for uni and I moved out of my apartment and packed all my belongings into boxes because I will be leaving for my exchange semester soon, so I'm very proud I still managed to read as much as I did. So here are the books I finished in January:

ARC Review: The Gilded Wolves

I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion or my review of the book in any way. Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with this eARC!

The Gilded Wolves
by Roshani Chokshi
Series: The Gilded Wolves #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication date: January 15, 2019
Published by: Wednesday Books, St. Martin's Press
Kindle edition, 464 pages
My rating: 3.5/5 ★

Set in a darkly glamorous world, The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence, and dangerous but thrilling adventure.

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can't yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they'll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

The Gilded Wolves takes place in late 19th century Paris - but with a twist. It follows a group of six on their quest to acquire a historical object. The setting is very atmospheric and overall made for a unique reading experience, which made it easy to get lost in the story.

The Last 10 Book Tag

I seem to be in a blogging mood recently but I'm a little at a loss when it comes to potential topics to talk about. But you know what's always fun? That's right: tags! It's been forever since I last did one and I definitely wasn't tagged by anyone to do this, but when I saw The Last 10 Book Tag around on booktube, it sounded fun and I wanted to try it. So here we go!

1. The last book you didn't finish?

I quite often start books and then stop when I can't get into them, but I don't count those as not finishing because I know I'll read them eventually. I do have some books that I mark as dnf and I know I won't ever finish them, but those are very rare. In fact, I think I only ever dnf-ed four books, the most recent one being The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan. Another book I can think of that I started but didn't finish and, to be honest, probably won't ever finish is Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. I actually quite enjoyed Red Queen when I read it but when I started Glass Sword, I just wasn't really interested in the story or the world anymore, so I don't think I will ever finish that series or that book.

August and September 2018 Wrap-Up

I definitely forgot how to do monthly wrap-up posts, but I felt like giving it a try again for August. And then, like the professional blogger I am, I forgot to post it until September was already over as well, so here we are with a combined wrap-up for August and September!

I read seven books in August and a grand total of one book in September, which leaves me with 37 books total read this year and on track for my reading challenge. Yay me! While I didn't discover any new all-time favorite books in the past two months, I'm still very happy with what I read. Except for one, all books met my expectations and even the rereads were still as good as the first time around.